Idioms

to have eccentric or fanciful ideas or schemes: Our aunt obviously has a bee in her bonnet, but we're very fond of her.

put the bee on, Informal. to try to obtain money from, as for a loan or donation: My brother just put the bee on me for another $10.

the bee's knees, Older Slang. (especially in the 1920s) a person or thing that is wonderful, great, or marvelous: Her new roadster is simply the bee's knees.

Origin of bee

1

before 1000;Middle Englishbe(e); Old Englishbīo, bēo; cognate with Dutchbij,Old Saxonbī, bini,Old High Germanbīa, bini (GermanBiene), Old Norsebȳ; with other suffixes, Lithuanianbìtė, OPruss bitte, OCS bĭchela,Old Irishbech;*bhi- is a North European stem with the same distribution as wax1, apple; put the bee on probably an allusion to sting in sense “dupe, cheat”

bee

n.

stinging insect, Old English beo "bee," from Proto-Germanic *bion (cf. Old Norse by, Old High German bia, Middle Dutch bie), possibly from PIE root *bhi- "quiver." Used metaphorically for "busy worker" since 1530s.

Sense of "meeting of neighbors to unite their labor for the benefit of one of their number," 1769, American English, probably is from comparison to the social activity of the insect; this was extended to other senses (e.g. spelling bee, first attested 1809; Raising-bee (1814) for building construction; also hanging bee "a lynching"). To have a bee in (one's) bonnet (1825), said of one who is harebrained or has an intense new notion or fancy, is said in Jamieson to be Scottish, perhaps from earlier expressions such as head full of bees (1510s), denoting mad mental activity.